


A Christmas Cold

by kihyxns



Series: caregiver magnus and constantly sick/injured alec [6]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Good Parabatai Jace Wayland, M/M, Sickfic, Tired Alec Lightwood, caregiver!magnus, sick!Alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 05:24:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17156039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyxns/pseuds/kihyxns
Summary: Before meeting Magnus, Alec never really celebrated Christmas properly. Sure, he exchanged presents with Jace, Izzy and his parents, but it was never something massive. But Magnus loves any excuse to party and have a nice get-together with as many as people as he can get to come. This year, maybe that’s not going to be so achievable.





	A Christmas Cold

**Author's Note:**

> hiya people, its me, back again, just in time for Christmas! I was so worried that i wasn't going to get this done in time but i did and its here and i hope you all enjoy it!! no matter if you're celebrating or not this season i wish you the happiest holiday!!! 
> 
> there are no major trigger warnings for this piece!
> 
> Enjoy,   
> L

It’s the night before Christmas and instead of Alec and Magnus sitting down on sofa, exchanging one present to each other before the big day, Alec is laid on said sofa, his eyes watering as his nose continues to annoy his tear ducts, feeling completely and utterly miserable. Magnus is with him, watching carefully over the anti-nausea potion that he’s currently brewing. 

“Do you want a tissue darling?” Magnus asks, seeing the discomfort painted on Alec’s face that he doesn’t want to acknowledge. 

“Yes please,” Alec sighs, completely giving up on attempting to make his condition to seem any better than it is.   
Magnus hands him the tissue, placing a gentle hand in his hair after he does so, hoping to calm his sick boyfriend. 

A pulsing pain sits stubbornly at the back of Alec’s head, causing him to shift into the blanket that’s draped over him. He’s trying to concentrate on whatever film Magnus has put on for him, but his mind is running circles around the idea that Magnus is unhappy that he can’t host his usual Christmas party. He knows that he won’t be, Alec thinks caught the cold from one of the kids he’s training, that’s not his fault. Regardless, he feels guilty. Magnus can see it written all over his sullen face. 

“What’s wrong?” Magnus questions, dancing around the subject won’t do either of them any good. 

“It’s just… are you upset that we’re not hosting Christmas at our place this year?” Alec asks hesitantly, knowing how much it means to him. 

“To be completely honest with you, yes, I am. But, nothing is ever more important to me than you. There will always be more Christmases and parties, but there’s only one of you,” Magnus reassures, wanting to settle whatever is going on in Alec’s mind right now. 

“I mean, you could still host, but maybe a smaller meal and present giving instead of the big, brilliant party you usually throw?” Alec suggests. 

“Would you be alright with that? You’re sick and I don’t want to be distracted with a party if that means you’re going to get worse,” Magnus sounds concerned, and even though Alec knows he’ll get better quicker with Magnus’ full attention, he also knows that a Christmas party always does him good. Plus, he’s looked after Alec enough times in their relationship, it’s time he gives back. 

“Trust me, I’ll be fine. It’s just a cold, nothing major,” Alec brushes it off, wanting Magnus to have a fun time, possibly at the expense of his health. 

“You might be my almighty shadowhunter and everything but promise me right now that if you start feeling worse or just don’t like everyone being around you’ll tell me so I can send everyone home,” 

“I promise, love you,” 

“Love you too,” 

—

Alec suggested this impromptu get-together to Magnus literally 12 hours ago and he’s managed to work his magic better than ever before. The entire loft is decorated with tinsel and lights, but it’s all very Magnus, very tasteful. Alec stumbles out of the bedroom around ten, his t-shirt twisted around his torso and his bed head a complete mess. He finds Magnus in the kitchen, preparing lunch. Magnus takes one look at him, kissing him softly before he does, and snaps his fingers, immediately fixing his hair and changing his clothes into a clean hoodie and sweats. 

“Thank you,” Alec rasps, his early morning voice apparent. 

“Today is about having fun and comfort, that’s why I only invited a couple people over,” Magnus responds, sliding over a mug of honey lemon tea over to Alec. 

“Who exactly?” Alec questions, sending Magnus a grateful look for the tea. 

“Just Jace, Clary, Izzy and Simon,” 

“Are you sure you want don’t want to invite any of your warlock friends?” 

“Warlock’s throw the best new years parties, I trust you’ll be better by then so we can both go,” Magnus just winks, turning the most of his attention back to sugar cookies. Alec cracks a smile, continuing to nurse his tea and observe Magnus’ erratic comings and goings. 

Within two hours there’s a knock at the door. It’s Clary and Jace, dragging a bag of presents behind them. Magnus welcomes them in, giving both of them a tight hug as he does. They walk through to the living room, joining Alec on the sofa. Magnus had insisted he take it easy, considering celebrating was what Magnus wanted to do, Alec was to just sit back and enjoy himself instead of worrying about every little detail of everything, like usual. 

Not long after Jace and Clary arrive, Izzy and Simon do too, making their little misfit Christmas party complete. Alec is curled up on the sofa, his back against the armrest, his head leant against the back of the seat. He’s quietly listening to whatever story Jace is retelling from their childhood, laughing along when it’s correct to and answering occasionally when prompted. He doesn’t usually come off this moody, and he’s not trying to be in that moment, but the mild ache at the back of his skull that appeared this morning has turned into a splitting headache in which every movement is painful. He puts on a brave face, understanding that Magnus has tried very hard to get this all together for the six of them to enjoy and he does not need Alec to be worried about all day. As he said before, today is about enjoyment. 

Before he recognises what’s happening, Magnus is summoning all of their presents over into a few separate piles. Alec sits up a little straighter, the blanket around his shoulders falling, and starts to ignore his already dripping nose in favour of taking part in the present opening. The presents settle into their individual piles, neatly stacked in front of each person. Magnus reaches behind him, draping the blanket back over his shoulders, glancing at him deeply just for a second. After seeing nothing suspicious, (Alec has become very good at keeping his ‘everything is great’ face on permanently while sick), he turns his attention back to the circle, whilst holding one hand in Alec’s slightly clammy one. 

“Well I just think this should be a present frenzy,” Magnus announces, looking over at everyone. They all seem to agree, each picking up one box and unwrapping it carefully. 

Alec is midway through unwrapping a present from Simon when he sees Magnus pick up his main gift from him. Alec managed to sneakily go behind Magnus’ back and successfully buy him a couple gifts this year without getting caught. He’s always nervous that Magnus will dislike what he’s been brought, I mean what do you get the warlock that has everything? Alec holds his breath for just a few seconds as Magnus starts to open it, big mistake, it prompts a coughing fit that distracts Magnus from the present and just puts all the attention on him. 

After making sure Alec’s lungs weren’t going to come out with the coughing, Magnus gently unwraps his gift. It’s a necklace, engraved with the date they met on it. He immediately puts it on, deeming it to be the favourite of his various jewellery. He chuckles at the sight of it, being instantly reminded of what he got Alec. 

“Do.. do you not like it?” Alec asks softly, looking down at the wrapping paper that’s all over his torso. 

“Darling, I love it,” Magnus replies, taking the moment to kiss Alec in front of everyone, “open yours and you’ll understand,” 

Alec reaches for his gift, it’s a box, similarly sized. He fumbles while unwrapping, his headache starting to affect his hand-eye coordination. As he finally gets into it he realises the reasoning behind the chuckle. It’s a ring, hung from a delicate silver chain, engraved with the date they met on the inside. Doing the same as his partner, he immediately attaches it around his neck, beaming with happiness at the situation. 

“I initially brought the ring but I thought it might interfere with your archery, so I brought the chain as a precaution,” Magnus explains. Alec is smiling so wide it’s starting to hurt his sinuses. 

“It’s perfect, and it matches accidentally with yours,” Alec replies, moving from his comfortable position leant against the armrest to move into Magnus’ side, kissing him lightly as he is engulfed by Magnus’ embrace. 

Alec doesn’t move far from Magnus side for the rest of the present opening. He hadn’t asked for anything, like always, so did not receive as much as everyone else. He’d much rather give gifts instead, enjoying the expressions of those who he’s found the perfect gift for. He calmly watched the rest open their presents, not wanting to exacerbate his headache by moving around too rapidly. He’s content in his position, remaining quiet due to the phlegm that’s blocking his nose and the soreness in his throat. Everyone’s having a great time, he’s not going to interrupt them for an irrelevant, mundane, cold. 

At some point Magnus has to get up to check on lunch, leaving Alec on the sofa and taking his warmth with him. Jace soon turns his attention away from Clary and onto him. Simon, Izzy and Clary are all chatting about a TV show they’re all currently binging (Alec has bets on Simon finishing it first, even though he’s a daylighter he never leaves the house anyway), Jace uses the opportunity to move sofas, over to Alec to witness his attempt at hiding how miserable he feels. 

“Hey,” Jace starts, sliding in down by Alec’s legs, clasping one knee in his hand. 

“Hey,” Alec replies, his voice being worn down the more he uses it. 

“You feelin’ okay?” Jace looks imploringly into Alec’s eyes, focusing on the bond between them to sense whether or not he’s being lied to. 

“Yeah, yeah, better than last night,” Alec states, only lying just a little, not enough to tip Jace off. 

“Did you like my present?” Jace had brought him a new quiver, a black leather, meant to be attached to his belt. Already he feels like it will be mostly used for training, as over years of using a quiver on his back he’s apprehensive to change, but grateful nevertheless. 

“Yes, thank you, it’s much more robust than the Institute issued one.” All of the weapons used in the field were meant to be issued by the Institute’s weapons master, Izzy, and that’s what Alec abided by. Regardless, some senior shadowhunters had brought their own customised or personalised weaponry and Alec was in no position to reprimand them for it. 

“I know your actual quiver is special to you and everything, but I thought it’d be nice to have one that’s actually yours,” Technically everyone shares weapons, unless it’s your weapon of choice, but the Institute is always short of bows and arrows but never short of people who want to start improving their marksmanship. Alec doesn’t like his bow being used but he can’t exactly say no. 

“It’s great,” Alec confirms, placing his hand over Jace’s to make sure the message gets through to him, “what about my present huh?” 

“Always practical, I did really need a new holster,” Jace chuckles, having nearly broken his old one with extensive use. 

“I’m glad you like it,” Alec smiles back. 

The conversation between them stops, Alec shifts once more, this time dropping his head lightly on Jace’s shoulder. Jace just places his arm around Alec, looking over to his girlfriend, sister and a vampire who’s he’s grown strangely fond of, and feeling content with the entire situation. He knows that Alec is just trying to hide whatever pain he’s in for the good of Christmas, and he also knows that’s never gonna stop, he’s not gonna even try to attempt it, so a small amount of comfort is the best thing Jace could give him in this moment. 

They only get to stay in each others comfort for a mere ten minutes before Magnus (metaphorically) summons them to the table. Said table is stacked sky high with every Christmas dish one could possibly imagine - it makes Alec feel a little nauseous.That tiny, unspoken thought makes Alec feel guilty, Magnus has prepared all day for this and a lot of hard work went into organising the entire thing, so Alec needs to be grateful, regardless of how he feels. 

Alec hesitantly takes his seat at the table, swallowing ruefully as he sees the rest of them eyeing up the meal as if they had not eaten in weeks. It’s almost ridiculous that Magnus can read him as well as he does, because instead of his plate being heaped full of food that he could not possibly eat in his situation, he is instead slid a small stack of toast, buttered lightly, just the way he likes it. Alec quickly glances at Magnus to see the reassuring look in his eyes, no ones even going to question the toast, everyone just accepts it. It’s impossible to love Magnus any more.

After Jace is done stuffing his face with as many potatoes as possible, they all move over to the sofa’s again, collapsing down into the soft cushions, most likely being unable to move for at least the next half an hour, if not more. Magnus clicks the TV on, allowing whatever channel it was on last to play out, knowing that no one is going to be watching it anyway. They sit in a comfortable silence, which does wonders for Alec’s headache. The silence allows Alec’s mind to wonder, leading him to contemplate how thankful he is for all his friends, and how even though this little Christmas get-together probably made his cold worse instead of better, he much rather that than sitting doing nothing, even if Magnus is the perfect company. 

It only takes one rerun episode of how I met your mother for Izzy to announce her departure, stating that she needed to get back to the Institute to see how everything was running. Before Alec had gotten sick he was already going to give command over to Izzy for a couple days, wanting (and sort of needing) to have time off to spend with Magnus. Simon leaves with her, stating that he hasn’t given Raphel his gift yet and he doesn’t want to risk angering the vampire anyway. Alec stays in his couch potato position, his feet draped over Magnus’ lap and all, because getting up may cause him to fall straight back down to the ground. He hugs both Simon and Izzy goodbye, thanking them for coming. Clary and Jace are on their tail, gathering up the gifts they received, and wishing the two of them goodbye. 

Alec lets out a sigh of relief, not happy that they’ve all gone, but excited to be able to spend time with Magnus, despite his worsening condition. Magnus moves to get up, probably wanting to clean up the table and any stray pieces of wrapping paper left on the floor. Alec lets out the tiniest whine, not wanting Magnus to leave just yet.

“Was that a whine I just heard?” Magnus asks in slight disbelief, letting out a small laugh at Alec’s new needy nature.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to get up, it’s fine you can leave me, I’ll be alright,” Alec immediately apologizes, already feeling like a terrible boyfriend for even attempting to keep Magnus on the sofa. 

“Darling, its okay, you’re sick, I was just going to make some tea but I can just summon it, it won’t taste as good though,” Magnus tries to reassure Alec, as seeing by the look on his face he starting to deny himself of his wants, again. 

“No go, it’s not like you’re not coming back.” Magnus takes a fraction of a second to clean up, a click of his fingers and the loft is sparkling again. The tea takes a little longer, but even he cannot speed up brewing times.

“You look exhausted, let’s get into bed before you fall asleep on the sofa again and spend tomorrow with lower back pain,” Magnus chuckles, guiding a sleepy Alec through the loft. 

“I’m sorry for being sick on Christmas and being quiet all day,” Alec trails, his voice sounding a mere fragmentation of its usual commanding tone. 

“Oh honey, it’s not your fault, you’ve probably had a splitting headache all day that you won’t want to tell me about and have just not been in the mood to be social. I’m surprised you made it though,”

“I knew how excited you were for Christmas and I didn’t want to let you sit around with me all day and let me dampen your Christmas spirit, I’d do anything for you,”

“I know you would and that’s the problem,” Magnus sighs, threading his healing magic through Alec’s ruffled hair, _“I have had and will have many Christmases, but I only get one you,”_

“I made it worse didn’t I?” Alec asks shyly, deciding to place his aching head gently into the juncture of Magnus’ shoulder and neck rather than look into his eyes.

“No, today was wonderful, what would have made it better would have been knowing that you were 100% alright, but you’re a very stubborn Shadowhunter Alexander, and extremely good at getting your way with me. Just let me take care of you now,” Magnus responds, running his other hand up and down Alec’s back, wanting him to get a goodnight’s sleep.

“I will, love you,”

“Love you too,”

And with that, their tea left forgotten on the side, Alec fell into an easy slumber, comforted by Magnus’ warm hold on him. He’d always have Magnus to take care of him, even if it’s just a small Christmas cold.

**Author's Note:**

> did you enjoy? please leave kudos and comments down below!!
> 
> \- L


End file.
